Chapter 239: I Can't Be the Only One Suffering
"As expected of President Pei."
"This could practically be called the finishing touch of the entire game!"
Li Yada was completely convinced, feeling deeply that she still had much to learn.
Of course, there was only one problem with this "finishing touch"—it seemed almost impossible to discover.
Li Yada even felt that the probability of anyone finding it was infinitely close to zero.
"Why did President Pei hide it so deeply?"
"Is it just because the first six deaths represent the six paths of reincarnation, and the seventh represents enlightenment?"
"No… that's not all. President Pei also deliberately reduced the monk's stats, making it nearly impossible for players to die by his hand."
Under the previous settings, the old monk's strength was roughly equivalent to a mini-boss. Plenty of players would have died repeatedly to him, so the condition of dying six times would've been easily triggered.
In that case, the weapon would definitely have been discovered.
But now, even the clumsiest players might die in front of the old monk once or twice at most.
After all, those who are truly bad at the game wouldn't even make it past the earlier mobs, let alone reach the monk.
"Such a brilliant, breathtaking design… yet it's deliberately hidden from almost all players."
"As expected, President Pei remains as unconventional as ever."
Li Yada couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
There was no denying that President Pei was an extraordinary designer.
Other designers would go to any length to please players—but President Pei was the exact opposite. He didn't care if players cursed him out.
Of course, this didn't mean that pleasing players was wrong or that tormenting them was right. It simply showed that President Pei was a designer who always walked his own path. He never expected his ideas to be understood by the players.
You could already see this from Game Producer.
Although countless people had analyzed its deeper meanings, President Pei never once offered any official interpretation.
There's a saying: "A thousand readers, a thousand Hamlets." Some authors believe that once a work is finished, it belongs to all who read it—the creator no longer holds the only truth.
Clearly, President Pei viewed games the same way.
Even though he created such a brilliant mechanic for Turn Back Before It's Too Late, he didn't expect players to discover or celebrate it.
In other words, to President Pei, even if this design remained buried for months or even years before being uncovered—that was perfectly fine.
In fact, he might prefer it that way.
No wonder he specifically reminded them earlier not to spread the word.
That… was President Pei's level of enlightenment!
Li Yada felt a little frustrated—it was almost painful that such an amazing design might go unnoticed.
But she also understood President Pei's mindset and decided she couldn't reveal it.
It was a tough call, but after thinking it through, Li Yada chose to follow his instructions.
"What I can do is polish every possible detail, fix any small flaws that President Pei didn't have time to handle."
"If a player really does manage to discover this hidden design, then they must experience it in the most flawless way possible—without a single bug!"
Adjusting her thick glasses, Li Yada felt her motivation flare up once again.
She was starting to understand why every lead executive designer personally promoted by President Pei was so outstanding.
It was because President Pei was exactly the kind of leader who could naturally inspire others—someone whose presence alone motivated people to keep moving forward!
. . .
. ..
Meanwhile, in his office, that very same "naturally inspiring, ever-motivating leader," Pei Qian, was staring at his black-and-white monitor, overcome by a surge of helpless fury.
Damn it!
Sure, Pei Qian had already given himself a special "cheat weapon" to make the game easier… but that didn't mean it made him invincible.
The modified stats of Pudu (Salvation) reminded him of the Halberd from Dark Souls 1—its regular attacks were clumsy and had long wind-ups, but its ground-slam attack was great.
At the same time, it had long reach and high damage—overall, a nearly perfect "cheese weapon."
When facing monsters, all you had to do was carefully dodge their attacks, seize the right moment to strike once, then retreat—repeat this process, and you could take down most enemies.
What's more, Pudu's damage output was even higher than the halberd's, which made the game theoretically easier.
The problem was… even with that weapon, while his attacks hit harder, the monsters could still one-shot him.
So he was still suffering.
"How did I end up like this…" Pei Qian groaned in despair.
'No way. I refuse to suffer alone!'
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became—until he remembered a certain name written in his little notebook.
With that thought, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Xin Hailu.
"Contact Teacher Qiao. Ask if he's interested in play-testing our new game. Sign him to a contract—during development, he'll be a full-time tester, playing eight hours a day. We'll pay him 500 yuan per day."
"Make it clear: eight hours every day until the game launches. If he can't hold out and breaks the contract… he doesn't get a single cent."
Xin Hailu immediately went to make the arrangements.
Just imagining Teacher Qiao eagerly showing up—only to suffer alongside him—made Pei Qian feel much better!
Why was he so sure that Qiao Liang would agree?
Because he'd already done his homework.
Ever since moving to Aili Island, Teacher Qiao's financial situation had greatly improved—but when it came to money, satisfaction never lasted long.
This new offer would appeal to him on three fronts:
First, the money—10,000 yuan a month for twenty workdays.
Second, the chance to get early access to Tenda's latest game, giving him an edge over other content creators when making videos or boasting to fans.
And third, the opportunity to see for himself the true face of Tenda… and of President Pei.
Getting paid just to play games—where else in the world could you find such a good deal?
So of course, Teacher Qiao was definitely going to accept.
After playing for a few more minutes, Pei Qian tossed the controller onto the desk. That was enough suffering for today.
Though his in-game progress hadn't advanced much, at least the matter of the "special weapon" was resolved. From here on out, all he needed to do was keep suffering—clearing the Six Paths of Reincarnation ending would just be a matter of time.
There was still plenty of time before the game's release, so there was no need to rush.
He grabbed the package that had arrived earlier and got ready to head home for some rest.
Just as he reached the door, a message came in from Xin Hailu.
"President Pei, Teacher Qiao agreed. He said he'll come over this weekend. I'll handle his lodging and reimburse his round-trip travel expenses."
Pei Qian was delighted—that was fast.
It seemed Qiao Liang hadn't even thought twice about it. The moment he heard the offer, he said yes on the spot.
Pei Qian immediately replied:
"Good. Make sure his accommodations are fully covered and arranged properly. Don't treat him poorly."
After all, the man was traveling all the way here just to suffer—if his spirit was going to be broken, the least they could do was comfort him materially.
A few moments later, another message came in from Xin Hailu:
"One more thing, President Pei. Zhang Zutting just posted on Weibo to thank us. I've already had the official account reply to him."
"But… should we consider verifying your personal account as well?"
Pei Qian did have a Weibo account—but he only used it to scroll through trending gossip and occasionally check out pretty girls' posts. It wasn't verified, and no one knew it belonged to the President Pei.
Tenda had an official Weibo account too, though it had only recently been created. The admin team in the corporate department was running it, and its engagement was still low.
Pei Qian flatly refused:
"No need."
He had no intention of becoming a Weibo celebrity. That kind of thing didn't interest him in the slightest.
Putting his phone away, Pei Qian started walking again—but after two steps, something felt… off.
He paused, pulled out his phone once more, and opened Weibo.
Searching for "Zhang Zutting," he quickly found the post.
"These past few days, I was in Jingzhou for work—collaborating with a game company. You might be seeing me online soon! Also, I had the best meal I've eaten in years at a private kitchen restaurant here. Absolutely amazing! If any of my friends come to Jingzhou, don't miss it!"